Think You Have a Good Use for Thin Mints? The Girl Scouts Want Your Ideas

For most people, eating Girl Scout cookies consists of pulling Thin Mint after Thin Mint from their plastic sleeve while quietly telling yourself “I swear this will be the last one.” But for the second year in a row, the Girl Scouts of the USA are asking you to think about your cookie habit in a more constructive way.

Yesterday, the Girl Scouts announced their second annual National Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest. The competition encourages everyone from home cooks to professional chefs to submit “Girl Scout Cookie-inspired” recipes to four different categories: cakes, pies and cupcakes; cookies, brownies and bars; pudding, ice cream and gelatin desserts; or candies. The recipes will then be reviewed by Taste of Home magazine, the event’s sponsor, with four selections from each category winning cash prizes of $250 to $500 and an opportunity to be featured in the magazine.

The scouts will accept submissions from February 26 to March 25, followed by a period from April 25 to May 1 where the public can see the finalists, try out the recipes and vote on their favorite. So don’t eat all your cookies before then! You’ll need them for cooking!

In last year’s inaugural competition, the grand prize winner was a recipe for Delightful Caramel Bars submitted by 15-year-old Girl Scout Stephanie Salmento—which makes it sound like the whole thing was rigged to me, but hey, who am I to question the Girl Scouts?

Still, I’m thinking of entering. I have a lot of free time ever since the Cub Scouts told me that childless adults can’t enter the Pinewood Derby.